


keep on going when it’s all falling apart

by blackandblue13



Series: some jatp one-shots bc i'm emo [12]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27364390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandblue13/pseuds/blackandblue13
Summary: It’s the way Julie’s breath hitches as she explains the current political climate to the guys.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie
Series: some jatp one-shots bc i'm emo [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1969249
Comments: 12
Kudos: 168





	keep on going when it’s all falling apart

**Author's Note:**

> is this a vent fic? perhaps 
> 
> if you’re just as anxious about the u.s. election as i am, then maybe don’t read this (or maybe do, if you want to cry, bc i sure did while writing) 
> 
> context stuff: background flynn/julie and alex/luke/reggie (bc that’s how all my fics fit in my head), and nick isn’t being possessed by caleb, the boys are visible as long as julie is around but only she can touch them, no plague bc i said so 
> 
> title from “ stand tall”

It’s the way Julie’s breath hitches as she explains the current political climate to the guys. How things have changed since the 90’s, for better and for worse. She smiles as she goes on about the good, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. 

Ray stops turning on the news the last week of October, and he would rarely watch it the month before. It once served as background noise to his cooking, now replaced by a restrained hum of one of the band’s songs. 

Julie asks Carlos about one of his best friends, only to drop the topic when he mentions the friend’s parents. He becomes eerily quiet when voting advertisements interrupt his marathon of ghost-hunting videos, sometimes to the point of his abandoning the task completely. 

Nick is unlike himself, acting as a guard dog, threatening glares toward anyone who might look at his friends the wrong way. He confronts a teammate who insists everyone is overreacting, then Principal Lessa pardons him from suspension when said teammate makes a racist comment and Nick punches him without thinking. 

Carrie smiles at Julie every chance she gets. The gesture is small but reassuring, with an unspoken _I know we’re not on the best terms but I do still care about you, and I’m here if you need me_ behind it, because they understand their drama can and should be put on hold for this. 

Julie and Flynn quadruple-check hallways, classrooms, even their own bedrooms before holding hands. Cheek kisses feel rushed, like they could be caught in the worst way possible. Ray had always offered to drive Flynn home after dinner, or at least walk with her, even though she only lives a few houses down, but she finally accepts it this year. 

It’s the way they haven’t booked a gig in almost two weeks. Every time the guys ask Julie about a potential venue, she hesitates. She shuts down, and they end practice early, and she feels like it’s all her fault, no matter how many times they say otherwise. 

~ 

When Alex passes by the open bathroom door, three days before, he overhears Julie growing frustrated as she can’t perfect her eyeliner, muttering to herself, _this is the fifth time I’ve tried, why can’t I get it right_ , capping the pen prior to throwing it straight through his leg, and that’s when she notices him. 

She apologizes profusely, claiming it was an accident, and she didn’t see him, and she didn’t mean it, all while painting on the brightest fake smile he’s ever seen. He _knows_ fake smiles. He’s worn too many to count. 

He picks up the eyeliner pen and asks if he can try. She nods, even though his hands are wobbly, and he’s only ever done this with Sunset Curve, who cared slightly less about how clean it looked, but she’s trusting him, and he manages to avoid poking her in the eye. 

~ 

When Reggie walks into the studio, two days before, he expects to hear Julie playing and singing as usual as she sits on the piano bench. Instead, she just sits, frozen as she stares at the keys. 

The day they met, she told the guys she didn’t play, and a somber expression overtook her face. And now it’s back. 

He joins her on the bench and she immediately leans into him when they don’t phase through each other. His hands drift over hers, feeling them quiver even before making contact. Then he moves to the keys, pressing down as he settles on playing the opening chords of “Bright.” She doesn’t sing or hum along, but she uses one hand to meet him with the melody. 

~ 

When Luke finds Julie sitting on her bed, one day before, stressing over last week’s homework, because she hasn’t touched the work from this week, and she’s barely made a dent in the stuff she’s doing now, he brings her a cup of water. 

Stainless steel cup, water from the sink, now living on the coaster on her nightstand. His mom would bring him hot chocolate every time he was upset, but he doesn’t want to risk broken glass and sticky floors in case he can’t stay solid. 

He’s watched Alex during math class and Reggie during English, a distracted look on their faces that came when the work turned incomprehensible. It's the same look she has now. He takes this as his cue to read _The Great Gatsby_ aloud, picking up where she left off, so she doesn’t have to stare at the page until the letters blur together. Her head rests in his lap as he fidgets with the ends of her curly hair, and when she falls asleep, he refuses to move and risk waking her, because he knows she’s barely slept this week. 

~ 

On the night of, Alex goes to Flynn’s house. He sits on her bed, writing in her notebook to communicate, acting as a source of comfort, even though she can’t see him. He gives her his sweatshirt, which becomes visible as soon as he’s taken it off, and she teaches him how to make friendship bracelets and properly apply eyeliner. 

Reggie stays with the Molina family in the living room, TV changing between various news channels for the first time in so many months. He sits on the floor in front of Julie's knees as she anxiously runs her fingers through his hair as he talks to Carlos, attempting to bring in a little bit of light. 

Luke wanders the streets alone, Reggie’s twenty-something year old baseball bat in hand, pacing the distance between Julie and Flynn’s houses, checking up on the Patterson and Wilson residences, too. His family is okay. 

They will be.

**Author's Note:**

> if u see a floating baseball bat in ur neighborhood dw it's just luke 
> 
> idk what this was. i hope y'all are staying safe and voting (if you're able to). love y'all 
> 
> thank you for reading! 
> 
> ~ b


End file.
